Butter-fly
by pigeonsaurus
Summary: Years ago, Red, the current Champion of Kanto, defeated Giovanni. Or so he thought. The leader of Team Rocket is back, and with a diabolical plan that will end in the domination of first the Orange Islands, and then the world. Joined by five others as if by fate, he must defeat the head of Team Rocket at all costs. Anime!verse, with origins being a prequel. Next update: 11/14/16
1. Full of Images - Holding Back

**Chapter 1**

Silence surrounded him as he sat in his office chair. Absolutely no sound erupted or whispered from anything around him, but that was how he liked to do his work. Even at his foot, curled up by the lower right desk drawer, his Persian was wrapped up in a ball, enjoying the quiet time with an afternoon nap, though not a single snore came out of its nose.

Taking a break from the paperwork before him, he lifted the pen's tip from the paper, placed it on the desk and leaned back in the chair, letting in a deep breath before releasing it. The sudden movement caused Persian to stir, but it did not look up. These quiet moments were never taken for granted by him. It was much more relaxed than having to rush around with his tail between his legs in the shadows avoiding the police. Or running into miserable brats that always seemed to thwart his plans no matter what.

Looking around his office, beady black eyes looked around at his surroundings. His office was much more bigger than the one he had in the Viridian Gym when he was the Gym Leader there. He supposed that was _something_ he had to thank Mewtwo for, as he destroyed it all those years ago when escaping his captivity. The office was much more spacious, and though it wasn't covered in a rug, it was tiled with purple tile. His desk was on an elevated platform, and in the middle of the huge area, a large red 'R' laid.

Picking up the pen, he read over the paperwork before him. The report read that a team of grunts had captured a large herd of Koffing. _Excellent,_ he thought, a smirk growing on his face. Koffing had a sturdy defense, and its ability to use SmokeScreen would come in handy in missions that required a quick getaway. Not to mention, some of the more experienced Koffing would know Explosion to help clean up the dirty work. Pen flying across the paper, he wrote on the report to give Koffing to any new recruits who didn't have any Pokémon on them, and placed it in his outbox.

Breaking the silence, there was a knock at the front door. Eyes looking up from the papers in front of him for only a second, Persian immediately lifted its head, turning to look at the door with such offense that the person behind it woke it up from its nap. "Enter." With that one utter, the double door opened up on one side, and a young woman walked in, dressed head-to-toe in a crimson pantsuit and blouse combo – his secretary.

"Giovanni, sir," she spoke up, both as a greeting and to get his attention. That's what he always liked about her. She didn't waste time with pleasantries; she skipped right to the point without any mindless chatter to waste his time. "We've detected Legendary Pokémon activity on our cameras located in the Orange Islands."

"The Orange Islands?" he repeated. "If you're talking about the elemental birds, they're much too heavily guarded for us to attempt to capture."

"No sir," she responded without skipping a beat. "We've detected Mew." Never in his life had such a three-word sentence struck him with such surprise. His eyelids widened out of shock, and his mouth hung open only slightly. "Should we act upon this sighting?"

"Yes. The only time anyone has ever caught any video evidence of Mew was us about ten years ago," he responded, regaining his composure with a clearing of his throat. "I'll watch the footage myself, but let's send a response team right away."

"Yes, Giovanni, sir," Matori replied, pulling out a notebook and jotting down some notes. "Who should we get to lead this mission?" Giovanni was quiet for a long while, and he only opened the desk drawer by his right hand. Something shiny caught his eye, and he looked down to see the four Pokémon two of his Rocket Grunts had caught for him during their mission in the Unova region. He had almost forgotten that he had put them in there. Absentmindedly, he picked up one of the Poké Balls, rolling it between his fingers as the gears in his thoughtful head spun. Inside this Poké Ball contained a Pokémon called Amoonguss, a dual Grass and Poison Pokémon. Standing up, he pocketed the Poké Ball as Persian also rose to its feet and walked closer to its master.

"I will be leading this mission myself." The pen Matori was writing with skidded across the pad of paper, and auburn irises behind clear, oval glasses looked at Giovanni. "This mission is far too valuable for the underlings to screw up. I _must_ have Mew for Team Rocket." Pushing in his office chair, he placed his hands in his pocket and started to walk out the side door. "Gather a large number of grunts, I don't care how experienced they are. Our success will come with quantity. Meet me in the video room. I will be sending you a text with the Pokémon I want to bring with me as well."

Matori only stared as her boss walked towards his personal door, and only bowed her head. "Yes, Giovanni."

o 0 o

Misty could hardly believe it. Finally, the time had come! As if she hadn't already done it about a million times, she pulled a pair of tickets out of the white envelope and read them through again. With excitement, aqua eyes scanned across the laminated pieces of paper. Even reading it over and over again, she couldn't believe her eyes. _She_ had been invited as a guest to participate in one of Prima's tournaments being held on South Mandarin Island in the Orange Islands.

Not only was Prima one of her biggest idols, but she was also a master of Water Pokémon and part of the Elite Four! To be recognized by Prima as a Water-type Trainer was one of the biggest deals to Misty. Even her sisters were sort of jealous of their little sister, as even _they_ saw Prima as an idol.

 _"Why does Misty get invited to one of Prima's tournaments and, like, we never did when we were the Gym Leaders?" Violet had whined when Misty opened up the official-looking envelop that had been sent to her._

 _"It's totally not fair," Lily muttered, the pout on her face apparent as she crossed her arms and looked away._

 _"Not fair? I worked hard to make this Gym what it has become! It's not just a ballet stadium anymore that gives away Gym Badges!" Misty shot back, trying to control her temper. It was hard not to around her bratty older sisters. "Besides, you girls don't even like Pokémon battles anyways, and that's all this tournament is."_

 _"But we'd, like, get over that if we battled in a tournament in our honor," Violet retorted, only causing Misty to roll her eyes. Meanwhile, Daisy snatched the envelop out of Misty's hand and took out the contents inside._

 _"Hey, give that back!"_

 _"Hold your Horsea, Misty. I'm just looking to see how many tickets there are," the blonde replied. Pulling out the letter on the inside, she shook out the laminated tickets, and frowned when only two fell from the inside. "Only two?"_

 _"Yeah, and one is for me," Misty told her. Suddenly, she was surrounded by her triplet older sisters, each of them whining and begging Misty to take them._

 _"Please Misty! Take me to see Prima! I'd love a chance to meet her!"_

 _"You don't need to meet Prima! I need to! She's super pretty and needs to give me beauty tips!"_

 _"You need beauty tips, but not from Prima! More like from a plastic surgeon!"_

 _"C'mon Misty! You've always been my favorite little sister!"_

 _Though Misty was quickly overwhelmed by it all, she was secretly enjoying this. It wasn't often her sisters were groveling at her feet, begging her for anything. In fact, when they were younger, it was always the opposite. Clutching Azurill in her arms, she took a step back, but found she could go no further when her back hit the wall. Looking down at her sisters' eyes, she finally closed her own and took a deep breath._

 _"Okay! I know who I'm going to choose to take to the tournament with me," she announced. All three of her sisters gasped and smiled brightly, then glared at each other, as if daring the other to assume it was them._

 _"Well, who is it?"_

 _"C'mon little sis, don't leave us in suspense!"_

 _A smile spread across her face, and, knowing she held all the power in her words, slowly paused. "I choose..."_

A sudden ring at the front lobby told Misty that someone had arrived and walked through the front Gym doors. "Ah! That must be Brock!" she muttered to herself. "Coming!" Pocketing the tickets in her back pocket, Misty made her way to the lobby, cutting through the arena in the middle of the Gym to do so.

Just as she had predicted, the previous Pewter City Gym Leader stood in the lobby, a hand in the pocket of the brown and orange vest over the collared forest-green shirt he wore as he waited patiently for the redhead. He hadn't changed much since Misty had traveled with him and Ash in the Johto region, but there were subtle differences. For one, he was taller than before, but Misty was too. He looked a little older now, but his coffee-colored skin was still clear of all blemishes or wrinkles. Smiling as she came into view, he took his hand out of his pocket and waved. "Hey, Misty!"

"Hey Brock! Thanks for coming with me! I know you're busy with your studies."

"Nah, I should be thanking _you_ for inviting me! Besides, it's good to get out of the house and away from the books for a while. Not to mention, my folks are driving me crazy."

"You're preaching to the choir..." the Water specialist muttered, glancing back at the second floor where her sisters were most likely sulking about her not choosing one of them.

"But you should be really proud of yourself, Misty! Being invited as a guest to a tournament held by Prima of the Elite Four is no small feat! That just shows how far you've come in your Pokémon training! From one previous Gym Leader to another, and from a friend, I'm proud of you."

"Stop, Brock! You're making me blush!" Misty replied, putting a hand on her cheek and smiling giddily. "You were the first one who came to mind when I saw the ticket. Seeing the Pokémon of an Elite Four member and how healthy they are will probably be great for your studies! Plus, I think it will be nice to see you again."

"Yeah, I really think so!" Brock said, taking out a camera from his pocket to show her. His cheeks then turned red, and he got a familiar look in his face that made Misty's eyebrow twitch. "I'll get great shots of both Prima _and_ her Pokémon for my studies."

"Don't make me regret this, Brock..." she grumbled. "I can still take one of my sisters, you know."

"Hey, speaking of which, where are those beautiful sisters of yours?" he asked, his head darting back and forth like an excited puppy. "I wanna see if I can get some shots of _them_ too!" A flash of light shot out of his pocket, and a blue and black Pokémon with orange cheeks appeared at his side, raising a three-fingered hand.

"There's no need, Brock, because I'm sure they'll just shoot you down like they do _every time you come here._ " This seemed to echo in Brock's head, and this snapped him out of his trance-like state, and he lowered his head in shame. "Don't worry Croagunk; I got this," Misty said, winking down at the Poison-type. Staring up at the Water Trainer for a few moments, Croagunk let out a scoff and looked away, almost as if it was disappointed it didn't get to stab its Trainer with Poison Jab.

"C'mon, we should get going. Our boat is going to leave soon," Misty proposed, reaching behind the counter to grab her pink shoulder bag that she had prepared for the trip beforehand. Recalling Croagunk back into its Poké Ball, Brock nodded in agreement, and the two left the Gym.

o 0 o

"Far! Farfar Farfetch'd! Far!" Letting out a happy laugh, the brunet looked up as a herd of Farfetch'd flew high above him. Each of the brown duck-like Pokémon carried their leek in their beak, and repeatedly squawked above as they flew above the bright blue ocean below in a V formation.

"It's amazing how many Farfetch'd I've seen!" Red said, holding onto the red cap perched atop his head as he watched the Normal and Flying Pokémon fly by. "They must really like the tropical weather here!" It had been quite some time since the events that occurred in Cerulean Cave and Mewtwo had been added to his collection. In fact, it had probably been over five years since all that went down. Though he was still the Indigo League champion, he found the life of the Champion to be a lot easier than he expected.

Only two Trainers had made it through the Indigo and Johto League twice a year, and most were not usually as skilled to get past the Elite Four. The closest anyone had ever come to battling him for his Champion title was a Trainer who made it as far as Lance, but the Dragon Master was able to sweep past his team with his Dragonite and Gyarados.

After all these years, he still had the same mission, however: to find Mew. He was determined to capture the elusive Psychic Pokémon. He traveled the Kanto region, following only rumors of sightings of the Phantom Psychic Pokémon, but they were the best leads he had. It wasn't a Legendary Pokémon for nothing, after all.

A few months back, however, Professor Oak told Red about the Orange Archipelago. They were a large group of islands that harbored all sorts of strange and unique Pokémon, and thought Red should check it out. He also mentioned that Blue was traveling through them as well, making his Pokémon as strong as they could be. Always ready for a new challenge, the brunet decided to explore the islands. Not to mention, these places were just new places that he could find Mew.

No, he wasn't collecting the Badges in the various Gyms here. Instead, he was exploring all the different islands, and seeing what kind of Pokémon were inhabiting them. He found it extremely interesting to see the Pokémon that lived on the island, and how the tropical atmosphere changed them. When visiting Valencia Island, he found Vileplume that had flowers much different from any other Vileplume he had seen, including his own.

Fixing the brim of his cap, he placed it back over the mess of brown hair that covered the top of his head, and turned to look over at the ocean. A school of Goldeen jumped out of the water, letting out an elegant coo as they did. Their leader, a Seaking, followed suit, and when he landed, the water had managed to spray Red. "Hey! Watch where you're spraying!" the Champion joked. On his shoulder, the yellow mouse Pokémon let out a squeak, lowering its ears from the spray of water that hit it as well. Sparks flew from its red cheek pouches in reaction to the water, but it shook the water off and smiled. "This place is really pretty, isn't it guys?"

"Pika!" the Electric-type replied happily. Red had captured this Pikachu after becoming Champion, and found that the little Electric-type had a great deal of power. It also had very sensitive hearing, and he was able to have it listen for Mew. That was, if it ever decided to show up.

"Laa!" his Lapras agreed with the pair. One of the Pokémon he had defeated the Elite Four with, Lapras was his main method of transportation in the Orange Islands – since not very many boats shipped from island to island. Reaching out, he stroked the Water and Ice Pokémon's neck. He was very proud of the Transport Pokémon and how hard it had worked. The trek across the oceans and rivers in Kanto were one thing, but the sea was very vast here in the Orange Islands.

Once again, another elegant cry came from his Water Pokémon, and Red's brown eyes looked up to see an island ahead of them. Excitedly, he stood up on the Pokémon's shelled back, a happy gasp sounding from his throat as all three of them saw the island before them. "Good eye, Lapras! Land ho!" he cried, pointing towards the island. With a new destination in sight, Lapras began to move its flippers quickly to reach the beach at the island. "That must be Kinnow Island! That old man on the other island was right!" Looking down at Lapras, he gave the blue Pokémon a smile. "We'll be able to rest there. Sound good?" Agreeing with its Trainer, Lapras gave one last push to get to the beach.

About ten minutes had passed, and the Lapras's stomach started to skid against the wet sand on the beach. Jumping off the Transport Pokémon's back, Red gave the Pokémon a stroke on its chin. "Thanks, Lapras. You're awesome."

Meanwhile, Pikachu jumped off Red's shoulder, its paws sinking into a crisp white sand that made up the beach. The Electric-type's brown eyes scanned the area, its ears twitching. There weren't very many things of interest on the beach, and it seemed like a pretty deserted island for the most part.

Movement caught all three pairs of eyes, and the group turned to see a young girl with shoulder-length brown hair that curled at the ends walking along the salt water. The ends of her overalls were rolled up to her knees, and she had a cream-colored sweatshirt tied around her waist. Her arms were out as if she were walking along a tightrope, and she hadn't seemed to notice the newly landed group, but the Growlithe beside her gave a bark, seeing the new strangers before his Trainer. This alerted the brunette, and she looked up, her crystal colored eyes looking into Red's brown ones.

Surprise colored them at first, but then she smiled and approached the three. "Well, I wasn't expecting to see anyone on this beach!" she spoke, putting a hand in between her knees as she lowered down and held a free hand out to Pikachu.

"Yeah! We just came from Fairchild Island, and it was quite a stretch, but Lapras can handle it!" When Pikachu didn't respond to her outstretched hand, the girl receded, though didn't seem disappointed at all. Instead, she looked up at Red with surprise.

"Fairchild Island? Isn't that the place with the huge Rhydon and Pidgeot?"

"Yup! But my Pokémon are pretty strong; I'm pretty proud of them!" Pikachu and Lapras let out a squeal of happiness at being praised by their Trainer, and the girl looked between the two as a thought formed in her head.

"Wow, you must be really strong..." she muttered, then gave the boy a smile. "My name's Andrea! You and I should battle! If you can take on those giant Pokémon, I'd like to see if I can fair against them, too!"

The idea of a battle brought a grin to the Champion's face, and he nodded with approval at her suggestion. "I'm Red! A battle would be awesome!" Looking at Lapras, he sent her an apologetic look. "Sorry, looks like that rest will have to wait a few more minutes." Nevertheless, the Transport Pokémon shook its head, fire burning in its eyes.

Running more up along the beach, Andrea and her Growlithe took one side of the beach, the white sand now sticking to her wet, bare feet. "Does three Pokémon each sound okay?" she asked, and Red approved of the decision. "Excellent! Okay Growlithe, you're up, boy!"

"Growwwl!" the Fire-type howled, trouncing forward and baring its teeth as if protecting its Trainer.

"Lapras, think you can handle it?" Red asked, turning his head to look at the Water Pokémon.

"Laa!" it replied, dragging itself onto the shore and facing the Puppy Pokémon.

"You're going to use a Water Pokémon on land?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, then gave her opponent a smirk. "Looks like you're underestimating my Growlithe."

"Nah, Lapras can handle itself just as well on land than it can on the water, right?" A coo was the response of the Water Pokémon, and that gave the start of the battle. "Alright Lapras, Ice Beam!"

"Growlithe, Flamethrower!" Andrea countered. Both Pokémon took in deep breaths, but spouted different attacks. From Lapras, a stream of sparkling blue liquid shot out of its mouth. Growlithe, however, fired a powerful blast of fire. The two attacks collided, and immediately exploded upon impact, kicking up a large amount of sand.

Pikachu held up his arms to protect its eyes from getting sand in it, but Red took advantage of the opportunity. "Body Slam!" Andrea gasped as the dust started to settle, and she looked up to see the large Water-type falling through the air, looking to squish her Pokémon.

"Flamethrower again!" Wiping off the shock on its face, Growlithe released another stream of fire from its mouth. This time, the fire attack made contact with Red's Lapras, hitting the underside of its stomach. Fire escaped from in between its flippers, and Lapras flinched as the fire scorched its soft underbelly, but this only managed to slow it down for a second, and it continued to make it way towards Growlithe. Cutting the fire short, Growlithe leapt out of the way just in the nick of time. With a loud bump, Lapras landed where Andrea's Growlithe had been just seconds before. Turing around to look at the striped pup, Lapras flinched, and suddenly its body began to glow with a red hue.

"Oh no, Lapras has been burned!" Red exclaimed, and Andrea gave a thumbs-up to Growlithe.

"Nice job! Now, let's use Take Down!" Throwing its head back and howling, the Fire-type began to charge forward. As it did so, its body became surrounded in an orange aura. Leaping up, Growlithe tackled Lapras with great force. The Water Pokémon seemed to brace itself for the attack, however, and lowered its head as Growlithe hit it. The two Pokémon struggled for dominance, but Lapras pulled its head up, sending Growlithe flying backwards. Flipping around, Growlithe landed on the ground on all fours, though white sparks appeared around its body as it was hit with recoil damage. Meanwhile, Lapras's body turned red once again as it took damage from its burn. "Wow, that Lapras has a lot of endurance..." Andrea muttered, her eyebrows raising slightly from surprise.

"Lapras isn't battling at its best because its exhausted from traveling..." Red whispered to himself. "I have to finish this now! Lapras, use Hydro Pump!"

"Laaa... pras!" With a cry, the Transport Pokémon fired a powerful jet of water from its mouth. Still recovering from the recoil damage, Growlithe couldn't do very much to counter the attack, and only let out a cry as the water attack enveloped it and carried it away. Struggling to get away from the super-effective attack, Growlithe jerked its body, and fell to the sand as the Hydro Pump fired off behind it.

"Let's finish it off! Use Surf!" Red commanded. This time, it was Lapras's turn to throw its head back, and it let out a loud cry that echoed throughout the beach. Andrea's eyes immediately darted to the sea beside them, and noticed the ocean was receding back, getting ready for a massive wave. Helpless to do anything, she watched as Lapras launched itself into the air, and a large wave rose from the ocean, catching and turning around its conjurer. Letting out one last cry, Lapras's body started to turn red as it took Burn damage before the wave crashed down onto the beach. With nowhere for Growlithe to run, the Puppy Pokémon was overtaken by the wave. As Lapras landed in the now-wet sand, the water pulled back into the ocean, and Growlithe was lying on the ground, covered in seaweed and swirls in its eyes. A relieved sigh escaped Red, while Andrea frowned at the scene.

"You did great, Growlithe," she commended, pulling out her Pokémon's Poké Ball and recalling it. Replacing it with another, she tossed it forward, releasing a Kabutops.

"Kabu, kabutops!" the Shellfish Pokémon announced, slicing the air in front of it. Pulling out his own Poké Ball, Red recalled Lapras, knowing if she got hurt anymore from the burn it got it wouldn't last long in this battle.

"Your turn, Scyther!" In a flash of light blue light, Red's green Mantis Pokémon appeared before him. Eyes narrowed as it looked at its opponent, readying its scythes for battle. It seemed almost jealous that its opponent had scythes just like it.

"An interesting choice...!" Andrea exclaimed, her smile widening. Despite being one Pokémon down, she seemed as though she was having the time of her life, and this made Red smile. He was glad that both her and him could have a good time and bond by battling. "Okay Kabutops, Aqua Jet!" Complying right away, Kabutops crouched slightly, and its body became surrounded by water. Leaping into the air, it rocketed at Scyther. The attack was quick, and both Red and Scyther gave a shocked look as Kabutops barreled at the Bug Pokémon. Within seconds, Kabutops rammed into Scyther, and the Mantis Pokémon skidded against the beach floor. With a wave of its scythes, Scyther knocked Kabutops off of it, and managed to break the Aqua Jet attack at the same time.

"X-Scissor!" Crossing its scythes in front of it like an X, the twin blades began to glow purple, and clear wings began to beat, sending their master flying towards Kabutops. Appearing behind Kabutops, a pair of purple energy blades at its chest disappearing in the air before the Shellfish Pokémon indicated where Scyther had struck it. Kabutops seemed shocked that its opponent could too move quickly, but the attack hardly had any effect on it. Turning around, Kabutops grumbled as Red's own Pokémon turned to face the Rock and Water Pokémon.

"Slash!" they both yelled in unison, and both Pokémon jumped at the other, delivering a barrage of scythe slashes. Though, with each strike of a scythe, a loud metallic clang echoed through the beach, almost as if swords were being parried. The suspense that hung in the air could be cut through with a butter knife, and both Trainers stared on the edge of their seats to see who the victor would be. Finally, both Pokémon struck forward once more, and their blades met once again. This time, another blade wasn't brought up, and the two shoved forward, trying to overpower the other. Either unwilling to give up, they jumped backwards.

"Scyther, Swords Dance!" Red ordered. Taking in a breath, Scyther stood up straight and crossed its scythes in front of it. It then began to spin around and around. The spin started to blow away stray sand, and soon the sand started to blow all around. Andrea's Kabutops raised a scythe to protect its eyes, but tried to keep its eyes on the bug Pokémon at the same time.

"He's trying to raise its attack power to try and knock out Kabutops quickly!" Andrea thought aloud. "Well, we won't let it! Kabutops, Hydro Pump!"

"Kabu!" the Shellfish Pokémon responded, holding its claws out. An orb of water formed in front of its body, and it fired a powerful jet of water from the orb straight at Scyther. The attack hit the spinning Pokémon, and though the wind Scyther had created managed to hold the attack for just a moment, it soon overpowered it, and rammed into it. Knocked out of the Swords Dance, Scyther was thrown backwards, sprawling on the ground.

"Hey Scyther! Are you all right?" Red called. Slowly, Scyther soon stood back up, though it was panting heavily. A relieved smile crossed the Kanto Trainer's face when he saw Scyther stand, and chocolate eyes turned to Andrea. "Your Kabutops is really powerful! You can tell you've really raised it well!" The brunette seemed to be thrown off by the other's compliment, but smiled back at Red.

"Thanks!"

"But we're not done, are we Scyther?" A cry of approval was heard from the Bug-type, and it shook its body to get any excess water off, and its wings began to buzz, lifting it off the ground. "Slash attack!" Kicking off the ground for speed, Scyther took off like a shot at Kabutops, raising a single scythe. "Its weak point is its stomach! Go for it!" he instructed, remembering his own Kabutops's weakness and using this to his advantage. Striking forward, the point of Scyther's scythe connected with Kabutops's chest, and sparks flew off the hard armor as the sword-like appendage made contact. Between the sheer power of Scyther's attack and the speed in which it shot at Kabutops, the Shellfish Pokémon skidded backwards, but both Trainer and Pokémon smirked as Kabutops stood up straight. "It's still not down?!"

"My Kabutops has a special ability called Battle Armor that protects its weak point!" Andrea explained. "Your Scyther is doing extremely well, I have to say! I figured it would have been defeated by now! Kabutops, attack with Slash!"

"Scyther, you too! Once more!" Like before, both Pokémon charged at each other, but this time, only a single scythe was raised from each Pokémon. In a flash, both Pokémon slashed each other, crossing scythes as they did so. The moment happened so fast that if Red had blinked, he would have missed it. A bead of sweat dripped down from underneath his hat as he watched the scene. Both Kabutops and Scyther passed each other, standing back-to-back. The moments seemed to pass like seconds, and suddenly, both Pokémon let out final breaths before falling to the sandy beach below. Eyebrows rose on both ends of the makeshift battlefield, and Red realized just then that he had been holding his breath. Giving a strange look of disappointment and happiness, he grabbed Scyther's Poké Ball and returned the Bug-type inside.

On the other side of the battlefield, Andrea pulled her Kabutops back into its own Poké Ball, giving a nod to the Rock-type that was pulled inside. "I'm impressed! You really _are_ a strong Trainer, Red! Even though I'm losing, I'm still having a great time!" she commended, then retrieved another Poké Ball from her overalls and pushed brown locks behind her ear with her free hand. "But I'm not gonna back down! Venomoth, go!" Throwing the Poké Ball into the sky in front of her, the red and white sphere opened up, releasing a purple moth Pokémon with large, round eyes from the light that emerged.

Pocketing Scyther's Poké Ball into the pocket of his jeans, Red looked down at his feet. "Can you handle this, bud?" A determined look appeared on the Electric-type's face, and Pikachu ran onto the battlefield, sparks dancing on its cheek pouches to show it was ready for battle.

Eager to start the final round, Andrea pointed forward with a delicate finger. "Venomoth, Superson-"

"Pikachu, Electro Ball!" Red cut in, jumping in for the first attack. As Venomoth prepared the Supersonic attack, Pikachu bolted forward. The yellow Mouse Pokémon leaped into the air, and Venomoth flinched back in surprise at its sudden appearance. With a smirk on its face, Pikachu began to gather electricity at the end of its tail, until it formed a yellow and blue orb of electricity. With a flip of its body, it slammed the orb of electricity into Venomoth, sending it plummeting to the ground and cutting out its concentration for the attack.

"Venomoth! Are you all right, darling?" she asked, looking up as Venomoth struggled to stay in the air. Shaking off the attack, Venomoth looked down at its Trainer and nodded.

"Now use Iron Tail!" Not wasting a single moment, Pikachu landed on the ground, then bounced back up, its cheeks sparkling with electricity as it prepared for the attack. The sparks traversed down its body, ending at the tip of the tail where it began to glow silver. Flipping around, Pikachu swung its tail forward with enough force to smash a concrete wall. However, Venomoth anticipated this movement, and began to flap its wings forcefully. The action pushed Venomoth backwards, dodging the Fighting-type attack, but that wasn't all. The attack caused a twister of wind to appear in front of Venomoth, sucking up the Electric-type Pokémon in its Gust attack. Pikachu started to spin around, and a worried look ran across Red's face as Andrea smiled.

"Venomoth, Psybeam!" From its eyes, two beams of rainbow-colored energy burst out, striking the Pikachu that was trapped in the twister created from its wings. The Psychic-type attack had enough force to knock the Electric-type out of it and destroy the wind cyclone at the same time. Rolling on the beach below, Pikachu stood back up on all four legs, shaking away the pain the still subsided. "Now, use Sludge Bomb!" Andrea commanded her Pokémon. Taking in a deep breath, Venomoth released it as a glob of brown sludge that shot out of the moth Pokémon's mandibles.

"Look out Pikachu!" Red cried. Beady black eyes turned to look behind it, and the Electric-type reacted quickly, rolling out of the way of the Poison-type attack. In its wake, the glob of sludge exploded in a small detonation upon impact, causing a geyser of sand to shoot up. Seconds later, another Sludge Bomb whistled through the air, and Pikachu had to jump, just barely missing the right half of its body. "Time to wrap this up, Pikachu! Use Volt Tackle!" Knowing this was its Trainer's finishing move, Pikachu smirked and looked forward. Golden sparks danced on its cheek pouches, and it ran forward to gather energy. A white stream of energy was left behind it as it ran, but once a little distance was gained, golden electricity sparkled around Pikachu's body, pouring off the Electric-type's body so much that one could barely see the Mouse Pokémon inside.

Meanwhile, Venomoth kept up its Sludge Bomb attacks, its arsenal of poison explosives never fading. "We have to hit Pikachu before it can hit you, Venomoth!" Andrea instructed. Venomoth agreed, and fired rapid-fire Sludge Bombs from its mouth. As each one flew at Pikachu, the Electric-type swerved back and forth to avoid Venomoth's assault.

"Pika pika pika pika pika pika..." the Electric-type muttered, timing each utter of its name with a forward movement. Finally, the Pokémon reached Venomoth, and both Trainer and Pokémon gasped as Pikachu leaped up towards the Bug and Poison Pokémon. "PI-KA!" A huge explosion rocked the island as Pikachu made contact with Andrea's final Pokémon, and the loose sand that was kicked up from the battle now flew through the air, and both Trainers had to cover their eyes to avoid getting any of the particles in their eyes. Andrea's eyes narrowed, attempting to look through the smoke from the attack to see if she could find her Pokémon, though she already knew the outcome.

"Venomoth!" she cried. On the other side, Red's Pikachu jumped back, electric sparks appearing around Pikachu's body from the recoil damage, but it only flinched for an instant. Venomoth, however, had sparks dancing on its own body, and the Poison Moth Pokémon was on the beach floor, swirls in its eyes indicating it was unable to battle. As Pikachu and Red cheered in victory, Andrea only smiled lightly and recalled her Pokémon into its Poké Ball. Placing the ball back in her pocket, she approached Red and extended a hand. "That was a battle well fought. You're very strong!"

"Thanks! Your Pokémon did really well too!" Red returned, shaking the other girl's hand. "I'm not the Indigo League Champion for nothing!" Hearing this, the other girl's eyes widened, and she dropped her hand, holding it in her other hand as though he had shocked her with an electric buzzer.

"You-You're the..."

"I gotta go now. I promised Lapras that I'd bring her to a Pokémon Center. Thanks for the battle!" he told her, smiling and waving one last time before darting towards the path that led to town.

As Andrea stood there a little while longer, Pikachu, who had taken residence on Red's shoulder, watched the brunette for a bit longer as its Trainer left her. Just as it was going to turn around, however, Pikachu's ears twitched, hearing a foreign sound coming from the woods to their right. "Pika?"

"Everything all right, buddy?" Red asked, not slowing down. Pikachu's coal black eyes stared into the woods, looking for movement, but it could find none. Disregarding the noise, Pikachu only shook its head, and finally looked away.

Meanwhile, a spectator of the battle smiled widely. The small figure let out a giggle, large blue eyes looking down at the brown-haired girl a moment longer before bouncing off the large palm leaf it had been sitting on. Flipping through the air, it stopped dead in the air as its psychic powers took over, keeping it afloat. A long pink tail trailed behind it, but that soon vanished. With another giggle, a rainbow-colored energy covered its body, and the Pokémon disappeared from view with a single utter of its name.

"Mew!"


	2. Still Weak - But I'm Sure I Can Fly

**Chapter 2**

All was peaceful on the quiet, abandoned island, located in the middle of the Orange Archipelago. The island was just far away enough from civilization so there wasn't any disturbances from anyone other than the occasional wild Pokémon or passing Trainer, but just close enough to the other islands to be able to escape to when supplies were needed. And this was just enough distance for Blue as well.

"Hitmonchan, Comet Punch," he ordered, hands on his hips nonchalantly as he witnessed the battle before him. Hearing its Trainer's command, the humanoid brown Punching Pokémon sped forward, a barrage of lightning-fast jabs shooting forth from its arm. In front of it, a small gray Pokémon with three ridges rising from the top of its head raised its arms, blocking its face with the toned appendages. The jabs struck the Machop's forearms, but the power behind the punches caused Machop to slide backwards on the forest floor. "Keep going, Hitmonchan. Don't let up!"

"Monchan! Mon!" the Fighting-type agreed, continuing to jab with Comet Punch. Suddenly, the Machop's face flinched in pain, and the Trainer's brown eyes flashed as Hitmonchan pushed forward, breaking through the other Fighting-type's defense.

"Mega Punch!" Pulling its fist back, it swung at Machop with much more power behind its punch than it previously had, and the attack connected, the punching glove over its fist leaving behind a white trail of energy as it struck through Machop's defenses, sending the Pokémon flying backwards. The Superpower Pokémon sprawled to the ground, struggling to get up, but finally admitting defeat and lay on the ground.

"You can't win battles simply by defending, Machop," Blue instructed, approaching his defeated Pokémon. "Eventually your defense will break, and that's when your opponent will find your weak spot." Flashbacks of his and Red's last battle rose in his head; the battle when he was the champion, and Red had defeated the Elite Four. It didn't matter how solid his Blastoise was – Red's Charizard still managed to overpower it with the brute force of its attacks. Surely the same result would happen if him and Red were to battle again. That was why he was training his Pokémon. It had been quite some time since that battle, and though he thought back then that he had a powerful line-up of Pokémon, Red proved him wrong, and so had Mewtwo, so he took it upon himself to train all the other Pokémon he had collected during his traveling days.

As Machop's red irises looked up at him, Blue remembered the day he found this Machop. In Rock Tunnel, he found it battling against a bunch of other wild Machoke and Machamp. Though it used the same defensive strategy, it failed and was thrown from the herd of Pokémon. Blue caught it because he could see the desire of wanting to evolve to be stronger in its eyes. "You will never evolve if you don't fight back." This seemed to strike a nerve with Machop, and at first, the Pokémon looked shocked, but then shook its head and stood back up, ready to give it another go with Hitmonchan.

"Ma, machop!" it challenged, putting up its fists. Hitmonchan agreed to its proposal, and lifted up its own fists. Darting forward, Hitmonchan unleashed another Comet Punch, but Machop weaved in and out of the punches, and this time struck back with a punch of its own. The punch struck Hitmonchan's chest, and it cut off the Fighting-type's attack, and this was when Machop dove down, clutching his opponent's leg and swinging it upward so it fell on its backside.

"Now that's what I like to see," Blue commented, a smile causing his facial features to soften.

"Eui!" a voice called from his shoulder, and he reached an arm up to pet the brown cat-like Pokémon sitting on his shoulder. Eevee grinned an even happier grin when it received mindless petting, and it continued to watch the battle ensue with its Trainer. This Eevee had been hatched from an egg that Blue had received from his grandfather, and he had developed quite a bond with the Evolution Pokémon. He usually let the Normal-type sit on his shoulder, and he had already obtained Flareon, Vaporeon and Jolteon for his Pokédex, so he didn't have any desire to evolve the little creature.

Once Hitmonchan had fell on his backside, Machop snatched up the Punching Pokémon's leg and began to spin. Eventually, the Pokémon started to swing faster, lifting Hitmonchan off the ground. "Good work, Machop! Seismic Toss!" Blue commanded, and as he did, Machop opened up his fingers, releasing his grip on Hitmonchan's leg and sending it flying away, the only thing catching it was the tree that broke its fall. A victorious look appeared on Machop's face, and it flexed its muscles in a victory pose.

As Blue took a step to his Pokémon, it began to glow with a light blue light. Eyebrows rose with surprise, but then the surprised look was wiped off and replaced with one of amusement as the light grew larger. When the glow faded, a more taller and muscular version of the Superpower Pokémon stood where Machop once stood. "Congrats, Machoke. But we still have a long way to go," Blue told his Pokémon, who only nodded in response.

o 0 o

A yawn managed to escape the featureless mouth of the young Champion as he wrapped a fluffy white towel around his neck; an attempt to stop the droplets of water pooling together at the tips of his messy brown hair from falling onto the crisp, pristine wooden floor of the Pokémon Center rental room. Traveling around on the ocean was a lot of fun, but Red wasn't used to traveling on sea so much, and the salty air and constant sand made him feel like he needed to shower twice a day or he would turn into a salt-lick.

Pulling the tab on the lock of the window, he pushed open the double-panel glass and immediately let the warm, fresh air of the island fill the room. Sunlight immediately warmed and dried his bare chest, and he let the wind blow through his hair as he secured the other towel around his waist so it wouldn't fall off. Oh boy, if it did, he'd be in the paper for weeks.

While life of a Champion wasn't hard, it was a little difficult always having the paparazzi in your face. Not to mention the constant talk shows and interviews he had to go through. It wasn't what he had signed up for when he defeated Lance and then Blue for the Championship, but he wouldn't have it any other way. As he gazed out into the blue horizon and watched as Farfetch'd squawked as they flew towards where the water and sky met, leeks grasped firmly in their beaks, he couldn't help but smile with content. All-in-all, he was glad that Professor Oak suggested that he came here. It was like a vacation to be able to travel again in uncharted territory. Maybe if he were feeling even more adventurous after this, he would travel to the Johto region.

The tall palm trees and greenery that rose around the window in an attempt of privacy for the room began to dance as a wind blew, but though Red paid no mind to the noise at first, he glanced up when the wind stopped but the trees dancing did not. Brown eyes studied where the noise was coming from, but as quickly as he looked up, the rustling of the palm leaves stopped. Before the thought could leave his head, the bushes beside him began to rustle as well, and he craned his neck, sticking his head out the window to try and see what was moving inside them.

"Is... someone there?" he asked, and just like that, the rustling in the tree was gone. Studying the area where he saw the moving leaves just moments before, he shrugged before turning away and heading back inside to get dressed. But he quickly looked back when he thought he heard a high-pitched giggle. A single eyebrow rose in wonder as he snatched up his clothes and headed for the bathroom once again.

Moments later, as he was pulling the black t-shirt over his now-dry hair, he was still dwelling on the distraction as he walked down the hallway from the rooms to the main lobby. The air-conditioned building kept the humidity out of the Pokémon Center, luckily, and he looked up as a pair of Trainers walking the opposite direction as him didn't even give him a second glance as they walked past him, too involved in their conversation about the poison barbs of a Nidoran to say hi.

"Ah, hello, Red!" Nurse Joy greeted as she saw the young man approach the front desk. Wearing a green apron, which went well with her tanned skin and pastel pink hair tied like the other Joys in the Kanto region, her face was void of all negative emotions as she smiled at him. "All of your Pokémon are all rested up and ready to be picked up whenever you're ready for them. They've all been properly fed and taken care of over the night."

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Red mumbled, making eye contact with the nurse for just a moment as she finished speaking. Sensing his hesitance, her smile faded and a look of concern crossed her face.

"Is everything okay? Was there something wrong with your accommodations?" Realizing that she might be offended, Red instantly perked up, and waved his hands in front of him while shaking his head.

"N-no! That isn't the problem at all!" he insisted. "No, the room is just fine. It's just that I thought I heard someone going through the bushes in front of my window, but when I looked out, no one was there."

The nurse seemed to ease up once he confirmed that it wasn't anything to do with the center itself. "Well, this center is fairly close to the beach, so perhaps you were hearing someone walking along the beach. We get a good amount of retired men walking by with their metal detectors and Itemfinders looking for discarded change."

"Maybe..." he mumbled, but his tone of voice didn't sound so convinced. Either way, he realized he was being rude to continue contemplating it in front of Nurse Joy, so he shook away the thoughts and smiled. "I'm ready to pick up my Pokémon!"

o 0 o

Hiking stick dug into the parting in the rock below his feet as he firmly planted his feet into the ground to keep himself from tumbling backwards. One black boot was elevated on another rock to stimulate blood flow in his legs. It had been quite some time since he had been out this far from his lighthouse on the far north side of Cerulean City, and the thin layer of sweat that matted the ends of his curly forest green to his forehead and ears was a huge hint at how out of shape he was. But, despite breathing heavily and his heart beating a mile a minute from the physical activity, a cat-like grin curled Bill's face as he looked down over Navel Island.

The tall mountain that served as the Gym here was the perfect chance for him to look over the entire Orange Archipelago. There was a reason he was here, of course, as he often didn't go hiking on his own whim. No, as a Pokémon Researcher, his days of traveling around were long behind him. But, various sources of his own creation told him information of a very rare Pokémon being detected in the area: _this_ area. Only question was... where?

As he took a swig from his water bottle, quickly hydrating the dry spot he had in his throat, he wiped the sweat from his brow on the sleeve of his button-up blue shirt and blocked the sun out of his black eyes as he studied the view before him. What others would see as a variety of random islands, Bill's scientific mind scanned each island individually, going through the characteristics of the rare Pokémon that hardly any had seen, and most of even _those_ were rumors. What did this Pokémon eat? What did it do for fun? Where did it enjoy being as opposed to disliking other environments. And why here? Why now? With simple Pokémon such as Scyther, Vileplume and Goldeen, the answers were just as. But this Pokémon was Legendary, and many fellow researchers were convinced the Pokémon didn't exist in the first place. In this sense, regarding a Pokémon with such little information around it, the answers were very difficult.

Luckily, Bill had his own hypotheses about this Pokémon. Of course he believed in it: his very title of Pokémon Researcher was on the line, and he had found Pokémon that exceeded limitations in his time on this planet; surely this one would be a piece of cake as well if he set his mind to it. Now that he had an assuring confirmation the Pokémon was in the area, it was only a matter of time before he knocked out the islands one-by-one to find it.

"Hello there!" a voice echoed over the mountainous region, and Bill's dark eyes turned to the direction where the voice was coming from. There, the Gym Leader of Navel Island stood a bit further up the mountain, taking a canteen out of the large orange hiking bag he wore on his back and taking a swig from the water inside. Unlike Bill who was sweating buckets, the handsome man didn't have an ounce of sweat breaking from his forehead. But despite this, he ran his fingers through his auburn and smiled down at the Pokémon Researcher. "How're you doing down there? Am I going too fast for you, bud?"

"I'm keeping up just fine; thanks Danny," the Researcher replied with an accent.

"You're not giving up, are you? If you're hot, the mountain gets snowy at the top that will quickly cool you down," Danny asked, and though there wasn't a teasing tone to his voice, he smiled down at Bill with a smile that was so sincere it was almost sarcastic. Despite this, Bill only laughed at the handsome man's words and shook his head.

"I think this is actually high enough to be able to see what I want to view," he responded. "Besides, I'm not looking to earn one of your badges." Danny let out a genuine laugh and rubbed the back of his head.

"You got me! But, I'll stick around until you're ready to be escorted down the mountain. If you fall and break your neck, it'll be on the Navel Gym."

"Sure," the researcher agreed, and Danny went to go venture off, leaving Bill by himself to look out over the horizon. Sitting down on the rock he had previously been standing on, he took off his own hiking backpack and retrieved a map of the entire archipelago. Pinpointing his location, he began to look between both the map and the layout of the islands before him, and after thinking through some possibilities, he began to cross 'X's over some islands.

"I'll find you... Mew."

o 0 o

Flashing the tickets to the small transport ship in the docks of Vermilion City that was waiting for them, the sailor ushered them on-board, and Misty and Brock climbed up to the main deck. Both Trainers smiled as they looked upon the bustling life of the people already gathered on board. It wasn't a very big boat, only big enough to carry about twenty people and the crew, but it seemed as though all of them were wealthy, and the traveling companions almost felt out of place. The main deck had a variety of tables set up, displaying merchandise depicting random Pokémon and finger-foods that varied from small sandwiches to an assortment of cheeses and wines.

As their eyes skimmed along the deck, they found some people speaking in fancy tuxedos and dresses with each other, and though some paid no mind to them, the remaining glanced at Misty and Brock before turning away. It was moments like these that Misty missed Azurill, wrapping her arms around her body with insecurity the same way she would have hugged the little Normal-type Pokémon whenever she got nervous; of course it wasn't the same.

The eyes weren't the only thing making them nervous. An unanimous memory was flooding through both of their heads from the first time that they were in Vermilion City. They had been invited aboard the St. Anne luxury cruiser for a cruise around the world by two teenage girls – who they now know were Jessie and James from Team Rocket – and during which, the entirety of Team Rocket attacked the boat. Though they were able to fight off Team Rocket and stop them from stealing anyone's Pokémon, a storm caused the ship to capsize, and the entire crew was evacuated; save for Misty and Brock and another traveling companion of theirs. The ship sunk to the bottom of the ocean, and it took everything they had to get out with their lives. An unspoken glance was nervously passed between viridian and squinted eyes, but they quickly swallowed down that lump in their throat.

The smokestack let out a bellow as hissing from the boat's engine started to wake up, and they knew it was time for the ship to start moving. Once the crew members was aware of everyone's safety, the boat began to move through the water, and soon the ocean breeze was caressing its delicate fingers through red and brown locks. The thought of their watery doom all those years ago had been forgotten now, and with a new smile passed between the two, Misty was the first to speak up. "Let's get something to eat! I'm starving!"

"Those sandwiches look pretty good!" Brock agreed, and the two made their way over to the food table, grabbing a paper plate each and deciding upon what they should eat.

"Well, I'm sure they're nothing compared to _your_ food," Misty joked, and Brock laughed, both a laugh of pride and bashfulness. As the first bite was made into a cucumber sandwich, a smile was brought to her face at the soft and sweet textures in her mouth, but she shook her head and gave him a smile. "Nope, nothing compared to yours!"

"Who does the cooking at the Gym, Misty?" Brock inquired as he stacked his plate with ham and cheese sandwiches coated in spicy mustard.

"All four of us rotate cooking every once in a while, but it's usually me most of the time when the other girls are either too lazy or out for the night. It's then that I _really_ realize how much Ash and I took your cooking for granted." Another laugh escaped Brock in mid-bite, though he tried to cover his mouth so as to not show off his chewed-up food.

"You two didn't take it for granted at all, and besides, I loved doing it," he dismissed. "Besides, it was much easier to cook for two or three other people than it is for _eleven_ others." Memories of Brock's gigantic family all rushed back to Misty, and she immediately felt guilty about bringing it up. Sensing her guilt, Brock quickly added, "But like I said, I love doing it."

The conversation was dropped, but it wasn't awkward at all. In fact, Misty couldn't help but realize the smile that was settled onto her face that wouldn't go away. It had been quite a long time since she had been out with friends, as being a Gym Leader was quite a time-constraining duty which left her with hardly little time to herself, let alone her friends like Brock and Tracey, and even Delia Ketchum and Professor Oak. But being with Brock and laughing and talking, it was just like old times, and it was though they hadn't even been apart a day. She only wished that Ash were here to make their group whole again.

"Prima certainly knows how to have us ride in style," the Water Trainer commented, tightening her grip on her plate as another sea-breeze rushed by.

"I wonder if _all_ of these people are going to Prima's tournament in South Mandarin Island or if they're just going to explore."

"They don't really seem like Pokémon Trainers to me..." Misty replied quietly from behind the second half of her sandwich so only Brock could hear her. Taking a bite and chewing it down to bits, she continued. "They could be going to watch it, but I think this boat makes multiple stops in the Orange Islands. They're probably just rich tourists and retired folks looking for a vacation."

"You're probably right," Brock admitted. "There isn't a Pokémon on this ship-" Though Misty wasn't paying attention, she certainly perked up when Brock was suddenly cut off, trying to see what had happened that caused him to stop talking in surprise. But when she looked up, she was just in time to see Brock hurrying away from her in a familiar, panting run that instantly boiled her blood.

In Brock's direction, a tall young woman with blue hair that was cut at her chin stood looking out over the water as the docks got smaller and smaller as time went on. In her cream-colored arms sat an Oddish who was looking down at the reflection of the sun above in the ocean below with interest. The woman was unaware of her surroundings until it was too late, and Brock had already taken her hand in one of his.

"My dear, what a beautiful sight among the ocean, and even among a flower garden. It has been so long, but my heart still beats for you as if we were separated just yesterday. If you call upon me, I will just be a hop, skip and a flower petal's drift away, lovely Erika-" Brock flirted, a confident smile giving a glimmer to his teeth. As he spoke, however, a flash of light burst from his Trainer's belt, and his Croagunk appeared, the tips of his black and orange fingers already glowing with a purple hue before driving its Poison Jab into his hip.

"Croagunk!" Brock let out a sudden cry of pain as the poison ran through his body and coloring his face with a similar purple hue.

"And... every rose... has its poisonous thorn..." Brock muttered, shuddering in pain as he fell over, but before he could hit the ground, Misty was there to catch him. Snatching him up by his ear, she dragged him away from the young woman, who looked completely shocked at what had transpired.

"And despite having been so long, you _never_ learn..." she muttered as she dropped him on the floor while Croagunk knelt and scoffed at his Trainer. Turning around, Misty faced the young woman to apologize, but she was surprised at who she saw. "Hey, you're Erika..!"

"Oh! Now I remember you! You're Misty, the Gym Leader of the Cerulean Gym!" the young woman replied with widened eyes, her heart still beating in her throat. "And you're..."

"Brock," Misty reminded, not even giving a glance to the twitching teen. "Our friend visited your Gym and battled you for a badge."

"How could I forget?" Erika replied, a soft smile smoothing porcelain features. "It was thanks to you three that my Gloom was saved." Concern then filled her green eyes as she looked at Brock once again. "I have an Antidote and a Pecha Berry that I could give him for the poisoning..."

"Nah, don't worry about him; he's used to it," Misty dismissed, waving a hand as she fixed her yellow shorts. "I have to say, I wasn't expecting to see another Kanto Gym Leader on this boat going to the Orange Islands. Are you going to watch Prima's tournament?"

"No, I'm not," Erika answered, shaking her head and looking down at the Oddish in her arms. "This Oddish is a young Pokémon that's ready to mature. I usually bring my Grass Pokémon to an island in the Orange Archipelago to spread its maturation spores with the other Oddish, Gloom and Vileplume since they have a much different climate than around Celadon City."

"That's quite interesting!" Brock suddenly spoke up, surprising both women at how quickly he recovered. He stood beside Misty, a small pad of paper and a pen in both hands and jotted down a few notes. "A lot of the Pokémon that originate in the Orange Islands are differently colored because of the climate, especially the Vileplume. Do you think that by bringing your Pokémon to spread its spores and absorb nutrients in the ground there that it causes them to mature differently?"

"Oh, definitely! I see quite a difference from everything to the strength of their attacks to their behavioral patterns, as opposed to my other Pokémon who I didn't bring to the Orange Islands," Erika responded.

"Grass-type Pokémon, especially Oddish, Gloom and Vileplume have a very delicate form of photosynthesis, and they actually prefer moonlight over sunlight, as opposed to other Grass-type Pokémon, but still like the warm weather. With the high temperature combined with the powerful moonlight right above the islands, it's a good guess that it's an ideal place to raise them!"

"Wow, you certainly know your stuff, Brock!"

"Brock studied to be a Pokémon Breeder for a long time, but now he's training to be a Pokémon Doctor," Misty explained, letting out a chuckle as Erika's Oddish bounced her finger in one of its leaves.

"That's quite an impressive goal, Brock!" Erika complimented. "Do you think it would be too much if I asked you to look over my Oddish? My duties at the Gym forced me to postpone this trip, and I'm worried that I'm not going to make it to the island in time."

"Well, I'm not certified or anything, but I can give it a quick check-up to see how it's doing!" he agreed, finishing his notes and pocketing them in his back pocket.

o 0 o

"Alright Lapras! I choose you!" Pale swinging arm released the red and white orb from his fingertips, and the object spun over the warm beach and opened, releasing blue energy from the inside that gave shape to Red's Lapras. The Transport Pokémon neighed happily, and moved its flippers in the cool ocean. "Are you ready to start swimming?" Another reply was given, a happy-go-lucky cry that didn't have an ounce of annoyance in it, and Red could only smile. He had lucked out with his Pokémon, and he was thankful every day for them.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu cheered, his little fist rising in the air as well to show that _he_ too was prepared, and his Trainer let out a chuckle as he scratched the fur underneath his chin.

"I have a good feeling about today! Today might be the day we finally find Mew!" As Lapras swam in a circle so her Trainer could climb onto her back, there were stars in Red's eyes as they set sail, and he sat in a position to get him comfortable. The noise from the Pokémon Center just a day before had completely left his mind, and talking with Nurse Joy was the last time he even thought about it. To be able to rest and relax was just what the doctor ordered, and he could see even Lapras had a spring in its, well, swim. The three seemed to feed of their own positive energy that day, and they all had smiles on their faces as they looked ahead at the deep blue that stretched out before them.

Unzipping his backpack, he fished through the cluttered mess to find the map of the Orange Archipelago that Professor Oak had given him when he first decided to come to the group of islands. With a pen that was also produced from his backpack, he crossed off the island he was just at and viewed the map as if looking at a whole new one. He could see the group of islands leading down from Pallet had all been marked with black X's, and those indicated which islands he had visited and searched.

Mindlessly putting the cap secured on the back to his lip, he thought about Blue. It was true that he was searching for Mew all the way out here, but the truth was he was also looking for Blue as well. His rival since they both became Pokémon Trainers all those years ago, his time with his childhood friend had been scarce since he became Champion, and Red knew that the oh-so confident grandson of Professor Oak was still a little sore from losing the Championship title from him. Even Professor Oak hadn't seen much of Blue, and his thoughts went back to the phone call he made to the Professor at the Pokémon Center before leaving.

 _"Professor, do you know where Blue is?"_

 _"You haven't seen him yet?" the gray-haired man asked, his thick dark eyebrows rising slightly to further wrinkle aged skin. Red simply shook his head, but his face wasn't one of worry, more of curiosity. He knew that Blue could handle himself, especially if he had Blastoise with him. "Well, truth be told,_ I _haven't even heard from him."_

 _"You haven't?" This time, it was Oak's turn to shake his head._

 _"No... but that's not really unheard of when it comes to Blue," he replied. "He's been training hard since you beat him in the Championships, and I suspect he's doing that now: training day in and day out on some deserted island so he isn't bothered."_

 _"I suppose that's true..." the Champion himself mumbled, his brown eyes looking down at the floor tiles underneath the video phone. "You don't suppose he'll be mad at me if I find him, do you?" Professor Oak almost seemed surprised at the question, but a chuckle was let out nonetheless._

 _"No, I don't think he'll be mad. On the contrary, I think he'll be_ happy _to see you." With the two exchanging looks, this time it was Red to look surprised, so the older man elaborated. "If he's training his Pokémon, you know he'll want to see the_ results _of that training, and what better to see how strong your Pokémon are than by putting them up against a Champion's Pokémon." His words put a smile on Red's face, and he now nodded as the confidence began to boil in him._

"If that's the case, I won't hold back!" Red said aloud, a confident smile spreading across his face. Looking back towards the map, he glanced down and noticed a deserted island some distance away from his location, but the current closest land mass without a population from his location. "Okay Lapras, let's head east!"

Meanwhile, deep underwater, a bubble was formed around a pale pink Pokémon, shielding it from both the water and the freezing temperatures all around. The lack of light caused it to look blue under the sea, but this only made its bright blue eyes pop. Its eyes, however, were locked on the fast-paced movements of four tan-colored flippers on the surface. Pushing forward with telekinesis, it moved effortlessly through the water, and didn't even break a sweat trying to keep up with the Pokémon above.

A sudden current pushed the Pokémon forward, and though it was a bit of a surprise at first, a small smile formed underneath its nose, and it lay back in the bubble to let the underwater stream push it along. Rushing past a school of Goldeen and Seaking, the horned goldfish scattered upon seeing the queer Pokémon rolling towards them, but it paid no mind and only laughed in pure joy as the current spiraled downwards deeper into the blackness of the ocean.

"Huu!" a Pokémon cried, speeding past the bubble in a rush to get wherever it was going, and the pink Pokémon only saw a flash of a gem as the ten-pointed Pokémon spun away. Inside the bubble, the Pokémon began to swirl around, and it waved its small little arms to try and stop itself from spinning. Slowly but surely, it came to a stop, and floated in place for a moment as its head spun from the dizziness effect. Shaking away the effects, the Pokémon looked in the direction the mysterious Pokémon rushed to, and stuck out its little tongue.

Suddenly remembering its original goal, the Pokémon looked up and gasped. Lapras was almost out of sight! Leaning forward, the small Pokémon gave chase, water rushing around it as it stayed in pursuit of its new friend.

o 0 o

Blood red liquid sloshed around in the cheap glass that had been washed many times in its lifetime. This was obvious by the ghost rings of drinks' past around the middle of it, a stain indicating a same ole' routine of alcohol and soda and who knows what else poured into the cup time and time again. But Bill didn't mind at all. Instead, he simply sat aboard the rocking ship as the ocean parted at the bow and sloshed all around.

Though his eyes stared ahead of him, his vision was elsewhere, imagining himself meeting Mew firsthand. To be able to meet such a magnificent Pokémon would not only make him the envy of his fellow researchers – that was actually pretty far back in his mind – but one of the first researchers in the world to be able to see the Pokémon up close. Rumors had it that Professor Oak had met and interacted with a Celebi in his past life as a Trainer, but Bill had yet to be graced with the presence of a Legendary Pokémon. And while he had yet to break out of the shadow of his most famous project: the giant Pokémon that visited his lighthouse every so often, he was hoping that this would be the opportunity to share evidence of Mew's existence once and for all.

"You're not getting tipsy from drinking that wine, are you?" a feminine voice called, breaking Bill out of his thoughts. Black eyes looked up to look at the wheel of the ship, and they landed on a young woman with green hair tucked underneath a black hat pulled backwards, and a bright pants and a jacket that opened revealing a red belly shirt.

"Not any more tipsy than this boat is making me," Bill joked back, and the woman smiled back at his joke. "I appreciate the ride, Maren, and I apologize greatly once again for the short notice."

"It's no problem, Bill! There ain't no job greater than being able to ship people around from island to island," the girl called Maren replied. "Aside from researching Pokémon, of course." Bill nodded in agreement and took a sip from his wine provided to him by her. They had met on Bill's first trip to the Orange Islands to study the climate-changed Pokémon, and she recognized him right away as a famous researcher and gave him her card if he ever needed a ride around. After Navel Island, he figured now was as good a time as ever to call up an old friend. "What is it you're researching this time, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It's a Pokémon long thought to be extinct, or that some question even exists at all!" he responded vaguely. He knew to be careful with his words, as even if it was with a friend, word of mouth traveled like wildfire. "Sorry, but that's all I can say; at least until I can confirm what my computers are detecting."

"Sure," she agreed, looking on ahead and twisting the wheel slightly to the right. "I'm not really surprised about that, honestly. I've always known there have been rare Pokémon around. Ever since I saw a Lugia shoot out of the water and fight against Zapdos, Articuno and Moltres, nothing about legendary Pokémon around here surprises me."

"Ah, that's at Shamouti Island, right?" Bill asked. "I remember reading that article quite a while back. No one has been able to find that Lugia ever since then, probably because of how deep it dwells underwater. Perhaps one day I'll come back to research _that_ Pokémon as well." Looking down at the shimmering liquid in his hand, the cat-like grin never faded from his face, excitement keeping it curled evenly. "After I've found what I'm looking for."

o 0 o

"Okay, now open wide and say 'ah'!"

"Ooooddd!" The Grass-type Pokémon complied to the man's orders, and it opened its mouth while doing so. Clicking on the small flashlight, Brock shined the light produced through the clear plastic into the orifice and peeked inside. Oddish kept its mouth opened for a few moments until Brock clicked the flashlight off and pocketed it.

"So, how does it look?" Erika asked, pushing a lock of her cerulean blue hair behind her ear despite wearing a red headband across the top of her head to keep it in place.

"Your Oddish is as healthy as can be!" Brock deduced, smiling widely at the Weed Pokémon. As a prize for being so well-behaved, the Pokémon Doctor in-training reached into his backpack and produced a handful of Pokémon food from a canister with a leaf marked on the front. Oddish smelled the contents offered to it, and quickly munched up the brown pellets before running off to join Misty, who was sticking her bare feet in the pool on board the other side of the cruise ship. "In fact, I'd say your Oddish is one of the healthiest Grass-type Pokémon I've ever seen! It's obvious you know how to care for your Grass Pokémon well."

"Thank you, Brock. I appreciate that compliment," the Gym Leader responded, smiling and bowing her head slightly. "It's nice to see that my hard work is paying off." The pair watched as Misty playfully splashed Oddish with the crystal clear water, and the Weed Pokémon stumbled back in an attempt to avoid the droplets but failed. "I'm actually quite shocked that Oddish ate the Pokémon food that you gave it. It is usually so picky with its food that the girls at the Gym and I have had to create a whole new formula of food just for Oddish."

"It's a special formula of my own creation that gives all the vitamins and nutrients towards Grass Pokémon to help them grow, and it tastes good to them as well," the young man explained, showing Erika the container of food.

"Brock makes his own Pokémon food from scratch! And he's also a really talented chef as well," Misty elaborated, turning her head as Oddish dipped its leaves in the water beside her.

"A Pokémon Doctor, Breeder, _and_ you can cook? I'm _very_ impressed, Brock."

"Well..." Brock stuttered, a blush growing on his face as he lowered his head and rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. Misty could only giggle at the scene, and finally stood up and shook the water off her feet.

"Would you like to go into the water, Oddish? I'm sure that my Pokémon would let you ride on it!" the redhead asked, reaching into her pocket to fish out a Poké Ball.

"Would you two mind watching Oddish for me while I went and found the little girl's room?" Erika requested politely, and Brock fished out his own Poké Ball.

"I need to use the bathroom as well, so I'll go with you. My Sudowoodo can keep an eye on Oddish; he's great with young Pokémon." Before anything could be spoken afterwards, a buzzing sound caught the three Gym Leaders' attention, and they all turned their heads towards the direction of the noise. They had been traveling for quite some time now, and they had arrived in the Orange Islands about an hour ago, and since leaving Vermilion City, they hadn't seen a single boat.

But the boat racing through the water, buzzing as its motor spun rapidly, was shooting in their direction with great speed. The ship was tiny compared to the ship they were riding on currently, but the three all sent looks of confusion between each other as they looked at the speed boat.

"They're certainly looking to get to somewhere in a hurry," Misty commented.

"Do you think they're injured?" Erika asked with worry in her voice.

"I don't know. They're too far away to see who is on it," Brock replied. "But if they don't change course soon, they're going to plow right into us." As expected, as the boat got closer to the cruise ship, it quickly swerved, splashing water up from the bottom of it, and all three of them let out a silent breath of relief, although they knew the boat wasn't going to hit them. "It's probably just some teenagers trying to have some fun."

"Those... don't look quite like teenagers," Erika corrected, her green eyes focusing on the driver and passenger that were now visible to the larger ship's guests. One look and Misty let in a sharp intake of breath, her eyes widening in shock at the uniforms the two men wore.

"They're Team Rocket!" she pointed out. Sure enough, the two men were dressed in black uniforms, with white gloves and boots pulled up over their appendages, and a black cap placed firmly upon their head, blocking their eyes from the sun. But they didn't need sunlight to know that both men were staring at the boat.

Sensing the despair from all three Trainers, Oddish left its spot at the poolside and jumped into Erika's arms, knowing that its Trainer would protect it. "What could Team Rocket be doing in the Orange Islands?" Brock questioned, preparing a Poké Ball in case they tried to come aboard. However, his question was answered, partially, when the passenger of the boat reached down and pulled out a bazooka from the floor.

The air seem to leave their lungs, and their blood ran cold as the three Trainers watched in horror as the Rocket member pointed the barrel of the blaster at the middle of the ship, and everything seemed to move in slow motion. Misty's pupils dilated in fear as he aimed, and as he pulled the trigger, Erika's grip on Oddish tightened. As the explosive shot out from the inside of the machinery, Brock's mouth went cotton-dry. All three of their lives seemed to flash before their eyes in a matter of moments, and a loud kaboom instantly interrupted their flashbacks through memory lane.


	3. Oh My Love

**Chapter 3**

"Careful of the tent area!" Blue said, only a hint of urgency in his voice. His Hitmonchan, with its boxing gloves raised to block its face, side-eyed the area behind it and rolled to the side as a Thunder Punch struck the air where it had been just moments before. With his sleeping area safe, Blue let out a sigh of relief and placed his palm to his forehead as Machoke lowered its fist, the remnants of electricity sparkling down into a dull glow disappearing from it.

"Choke..." his Pokémon apologized bashfully.

"It's all right. Just try to be more aware of your surroundings. I'd rather not sleep out in the open when a storm hits," he replied. Snapping back into battle phase, the Pokémon Trainer lowered his brow and looked at Fighting Pokémon acting as Machoke's opponent. "Hitmonchan, Seismic Toss!" Without warning, the Punching Pokémon dashed forward and snatched up Machoke in its grasp before the Superpower Pokémon could realize that Blue had given an order.

With incredible strength, Hitmonchan bent his knees and lowered his upper body backwards like a bridge, picking up Machoke off its feet and tossing him backwards. The Superpower Pokémon let out a grunt as it tumbled on the forest floor, and Blue gave it a moment to recover before giving another order to Hitmonchan. "Use Comet Punch!" Whipping around, Hitmonchan dashed forward and skidded to a stop in front of his fellow teammate.

"Monchan!" the Pokémon cried, striking a single fist forward at a blinding speed that blurred his arm. Instinctively, Machoke put his arms up over his face, and the muscular forearms blocked his face from getting struck.

"I've told you that you can't just defend, Machoke!" Blue criticized, watching as it was forced back. "You need to strike back!" Suddenly, his words were cut off when an orange glow appeared around the outline of its body, and his eyes widened as Hitmonchan was suddenly pushed back a few inches. Hitmonchan also widened its eyes, not understanding what force had caused it to bounce back.

"Mon?"

"Hey... that looked like..." Blue muttered, glancing at the Eevee on his shoulder in thought. The brown fox-like Pokémon nodded and they both turned back to Machoke. "Okay Machoke, maybe I was wrong."

The Fighting-type Pokémon, however, didn't seem to understand as much as Hitmonchan, and it blinked confusion from its shocked eyes as it looked at its hands. "It's okay. We'll practice as much as we can to perfect the move," Blue assured, a smile curling his lips. At that moment, a snap from a twig breaking under weight caught all of their attention, and the four pairs of eyes all looked up to the top of a cliff to see a boy with brown hair under a red cap looking down at them, kneeling and overlooking the view with a sheepish grin on his face. To the boy's right was a Pikachu, the one who had broken the branch and alerted them to the noise, as shown by the embarrassed look on its face.

"Heya!" the boy spoke, breaking the awkward silence with an equally awkward wave of his hand. Relaxing a bit at the sight of his childhood rival, Blue sighed and shook his head.

"How long have you been watching there, Red?" he asked, but then continued to correct himself. "Well, I'm sure long enough, right?"

"Yeah!" Red said, his teeth flashing in the sunlight from the result of the cheeky grin on his face as he sat with his legs dangling over the side of the plateau.

"Well, I suppose you could have _worse_ timing." Blue smirked. "It might be good for Machoke to train against other Pokémon as well. What do you say?" The Champion's face lit up at the request, and Red immediately stood up.

"Sure!" he agreed, and disappeared over the edge to make his way down to the lower location. Moments later, the young man emerged from the woods with his Pikachu holding onto his shoulder and ducking under a low-hanging branch. "Man, I'm sure glad I finally ran into you! I looked for you all over! Not even Professor Oak knew where you were!"

"Yeah, well, there's no people on this island, let alone payphones," Blue stated matter-of-factually as Eevee jumped off his shoulder to greet Pikachu. The two shook paws in a proper greeting, and then took off in a small game of chase. "What are you doing here, anyway? Are you challenging the Orange Crew?"

"Nah; I'm traveling around and seeing all the different Pokémon this place has to offer," he replied, then added more quietly, "I'm also looking for Mew!"

"You're _still_ on about that?" Blue raised an eyebrow at the mention of the legendary Pokémon. "Even if it does exist, you're never going to find it. You're only wasting your time." His words made the Champion's eyebrows lower, and his lower lip puffed out in anger afterwards.

"It _exists_ ," Red corrected. "How else do you explain that diary and _Mewtwo._ " Before Blue even had a chance to reply, the young champion continued. "Besides, talk about a waste of time. Don't you already have all the Kanto Pokémon in your Pokédex? Why are you training a Machoke anyways?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm training my Pokémon to defeat _you_ after I beat the Elite Four again," Blue told him with crossed arms. "Not to mention, I don't _own_ a Machamp. It just happened to be in my Pokédex because someone traded a Machoke to me so it could evolve."

"Oh yeah, that's right..." Red mumbled, touching his chin in thought. "That's how I got Alakazam in _my_ Pokédex." Looking back up, he saw the smug look on Blue's face and gave his own smirk with a plan to wipe it off. "But the League isn't like it was when _we_ were beginning Trainers. There's a tournament now, and only one Trainer a year gets to compete against the Elite Four." As quickly as the smirk from the confident former Champion came, it disappeared, igniting a fire in his brown eyes.

"You think I don't know that?! Those rookies will be nothing but pushovers!"

"You think so?" Red teased, and gave the grandson of Professor Oak a sideways glance. "You sure this island is secluded?" Eyebrows lowered at the unexpected question, and Blue responded with confusion as well.

"Of course."

"Then why don't we see how _powerful_ your Pokémon really are!" Red suggested slyly, pulling an Ultra Ball out from his Trainer belt and enlarging it in his hand.

Blue stared at the Ultra Ball with hesitancy, and a bead of sweat trailed dirt down the side of his face. "Is that...?" The rest of the question was left hanging in the air, but the look on Red's face showed he knew exactly what he was talking about, and a nod followed it. "You're on." A grin spread across Blue's face, and he ran back to make room for a makeshift battlefield. "Okay Machoke, you're up," the coffee haired Trainer said to it, and it nodded, stepping in between him and Red. "We'll use three Pokémon each."

The other Trainer studied his opponent carefully as he held the Ultra Ball in his hand. He was trying to stay calm, but he knew Blue was shaking slightly. And he didn't blame him. He tried not to use this Pokémon much, but when he did, it was sometimes too powerful for him to control. "You can use three; all _I'll_ need to use is this one."

As Red raised his hand, Blue swallowed the lump in his throat. Anxiety was balling together his phlegm and keeping it at the back of his tongue, and he couldn't help but shake in his lilac jeans. With each passing second, he wondered if this would be a good idea. Sure, it was three against one, but the odds were still against him.

"Go, M-" Suddenly, an explosion shook the ground they stood on, and blacked the sky around them. The pair of Trainers nearly jumped out of their pants, and the shock wave that followed was enough to almost knock them off their feet. Flocks of Flying-type Pokémon in the trees above let out startled cries and they took off almost immediately in a rush of brown, vanilla, and red feathers, and as branches came crashing down, Blue and Red fell onto their knees as Pikachu and Eevee came rushing back to them, ducking under their respected Trainers for cover. "What was that?!" Red shouted, once he made sure his Pikachu was all right.

"I don't know, but it sounded like an explosion," Blue replied after doing the same to Eevee, Hitmonchan and Machoke. Without any hesitance, Red took off towards the source of the noise, with Pikachu following close behind on all fours. "Hey wait! We don't know what _caused_ it, either!" But Red ignored him and continued running until he disappeared through the sea of trees. Blue grumbled under his breath, and after pulling out two Poké Balls to recall his Hitmonchan and Machoke, him and Eevee charged after Red.

From the direction he was going, Blue knew this path lead to the shoreline, and after weaving in and out of the trees, he finally caught up to Red. Both of their ears were still ringing from the initial explosion, and they soon discovered what went boom in the first place. "Is that... a ship?!" Red cried, eyebrows pulling together as he squinted to try and see in the distance better.

"It looks to be a cruise liner; or at least it _did,_ " Blue commented.

"That means there were people on it, right?!" Red cried in alarm, and the realization hit Blue as his eyes slowly widened. Pulling a Poké Ball from his waist, Red tossed it forward, and from the light materialized his Lapras, who gave a cry and turned around towards the source of the fire.

"What are you doing?! There still might be debris falling around there!"

"I have to see if there are any survivors!" Red announced as he leaped on Lapras's shell. "Pikachu, stay on the beach here. It will be dangerous."

"Pi..." the Electric-type muttered with worry written on its face as its Trainer shipped off.

"Wait! You're going to get yourself killed!" When Red once again ignored his words of caution, Blue let out a groan and recalled Eevee into its Poké Ball before replacing it with another one. "Go Blastoise!"

o 0 o

With the scuba suit stripped off his body and discarded on the beach behind him, Bill took in a deep breath of the fresh tropical air. Hey, it was better than the artificial air he had been breathing through the tank. But it had been quite some time since he had been scuba diving, and he was able to see the beautiful Water Pokémon from the Orange Islands in their natural habitat.

He cursed himself for not bringing his waterproof camera, but he closed his eyes as he gained his land-legs back, running his fingers through his drying dark green curls as he remembered the visions that could only be recreated by an artist at this moment. School of Goldeen lead by a Seaking with its copper scales shimmering beautifully in the rays of sunlight that broke through the water's surface. He remembered a lone Poliwag with its little legs kicking as hard as it could to get deeper and deeper to the ocean's floor, and it finally rewarded itself with a treat of algae-covered seaweed, munching it between its small pink lips.

The image which really stuck out in his head though was the Staryu and Tentacruel battling it out over territory. A mighty Psywave had stopped Poison Sting in its tracks, and with a combined effort of Power Gems and Swifts from its pack, the group of Star Shape Pokémon drove the lone Tentacruel away. It was truly a breathtaking course of nature, and he felt blessed to be able to see a pair of Water-type Pokémon battle in their natural territory: under the deep blue.

With his lungs and legs now useful, Bill stood from his sitting position, the white sands trickling down the backside of his khakis and he used his hands to rid himself of the rest. He didn't want to risk Mew being scared off by any kind of boat or unnatural appearances in any way, so he had asked Maren to stop some distance away so he could head towards the island under the cover of the water. The only problem at this point would be getting her scuba equipment back to her.

He had hardly made two steps forward before a huge explosion rocked the island. The shock of sound that boomed in the distance caused his heart to leap from his chest, and everything he had learned told him to throw himself to the ground. Dust and sand were kicked up as he landed, and hands quickly covered his scalp for protection from debris as the shock wave rushed by him. Pidgey, Pidgeotto and the occasional Spearow flew overhead, startled from the obvious noise and scattering from the center forest of the large island.

Once the wind had died down from the explosion and Bill realized that he was in one piece, he stood back up as quickly as he had fell and whipped around. Surely that hadn't been Maren's ship that had exploded, right?! If something had happened to that poor girl, he would have felt terrible, considering it was because of him that she was here.

But logic sunk in once the initial panicked thoughts settled down. No, it wasn't her ship, as her small ship wouldn't have made such a large kaboom. Not only that, but it sounded to have come from the opposite direction of where her ship was from. Immediately, his head whipped around as frantic eyes and his scientific mind ran through a series of hypotheses in his head. As far as he knew, this island was deserted of any human contact despite the size of the island, as it was filed as a Pokémon Preservation Area. Perhaps something on the other side of the island exploded!

That was when another thought filled his head: he had put forth all this effort to keep a low profile as to not frighten Mew, and the explosion had probably scared it away if it was around the island at all! Clenching his teeth together, a few particles of sand that had managed to fly into his mouth during all the commotion ground in between the bones, and he spit off to the side to get it out. Whatever was the cause of the explosion, someone could have gotten hurt, and he needed to see what it was.

Black eyes looked up towards the sky where dark smoke was starting to reach up to pollute the pure white clouds hovering peacefully, and he knew that was his destination. Shaking his clothes of sand for a final time, a determined look crossed his face and he stomped on into the forest.

o 0 o

"How's it coming, Clemont?" a young girl with dirty blonde hair tucked under a red fedora asked as she ran a brush through the shiny locks. Before her, the young man she had spoken to was kneeling over a small campfire with a pot over the open flames. The bright blond boy was stirring the contents inside: stew leftover from the meal from the night before. The brown broth was already starting to boil and steam, and beside him, the boy's Chespin was breathing in the scent and practically drooling a river down the hill.

"It should be finished in a few minutes," Clemont answered, giving one final stir before standing up straight and stretching his leg muscles. "It isn't often we have leftovers from dinner. I'm hoping it was okay-tasting, since Ash didn't have seconds or thirds!" He gave a grin that showed his nervous feelings as he adjusted the glasses perched upon the bridge of his nose, and stuck a single leg almost instinctively out to push the Grass-type away to prevent it from eating the food prepared for the Trainers.

"Don't worry about a thing, Clemont. Ash just got over a cold, remember? I don't think he's quite a hundred percent yet, so neither is his appetite!" The Gym Leader let out a sigh in response, knowing logically, she was right. It had been a couple of days since Ash had been completely bed-ridden with a cold, but their trip to Snowbelle City was a long one and no matter how much a perfect immune system one had, there was no way someone could stop being bed-ridden in just a half of a day.

"Where _are_ Ash and Bonnie anyway? We sent them for water a while ago, and we still need to boil it to be able to take with us on the trip," the Electric-type specialist pointed out.

"You're right; they have been gone a while," the girl, Serena, muttered under her breath. But his question was soon answered with a cheery voice breaking the conversation.

"Here we are!" a young girl with bright blonde hair tied into a side ponytail cried with excitement in her voice, carrying a pail of water with both hands as she trudged up the hill.

"Dene dene!" her little Pokémon called in response, carrying a bottle cap full of water on top of Bonnie's head steadily with two little hands.

Behind her, a young boy with black hair jutting out in various directions underneath a red and white cap was carrying two buckets, one in each hand, and attempting to keep up with the girl while trying hard not to spill the contents inside the buckets. His partner Pokémon, Pikachu, was attempting to hold one of them steady as well. Despite having the most to carry, a smile was plastered on his face, and a chuckle was let out as he made eye contact with his traveling companions.

"We found a spring nearby and managed to get a bunch of water, big brother!" Bonnie told the young Trainer dressed in the blue jumpsuit as she approached him. A wide smile spread across both Clemont's and Serena's faces as the blond reached out to collect the bucket from Bonnie, but before anything could be said, a crash of metal hitting the ground caused the group to look up in alarm.

Eyes widened from the surprise of the sound, they all looked in Ash's direction. The buckets had fallen to the ground out of his grip and the water inside was already soaked into the grass at his feet. But despite losing the reward of their trek through the woods, Ash's gaze was far from the ground, and instead the back of his head was facing towards his group of friends, brown eyes staring into the sky as eyebrows drew together in confusion.

 _What was... that_ feeling?he thought. It was a feeling... in his stomach? No, it wasn't stomach pain or gas. It was more like... in his heart. Was there something wrong with someone close to him?

"Oh, Ash! Now we have to walk all the way back to that spring!" Bonnie whined, puffing her lips out with annoyance. But unlike their younger traveling companion, Clemont and Serena swapped a look of concern between each other, not knowing what to say to their friend.

"Ash..?" Serena asked, her voice just over a whisper as she took a hesitant step forward with a clutched hand at her chest as if to put something between her and him.

"Are you feeling okay, Ash?" Clemont questioned, a frown forming on his face. "Perhaps you should lay down a little bit longer while I finish up breakfast." For a long while, Ash didn't reply to either of them, and acted as though he hadn't heard them. Even Pikachu was looking up at his Trainer with concern and tugging on the leg of his black jeans.

"Pikapi?"

Finally, Ash seemed to snap out of his trance and turned around, a cheeky grin showing white teeth to his friends as if the past few moments had not happened anywhere outside his head. "Whoops! Sorry 'bout that, guys! Guess I'm still not feeling a hundred percent, y'know?" Despite his happy-go-lucky attitude, the older friends of their little group were still not convinced, but said nothing as they watched him pick up the buckets again. "I'll go fill up the buckets again and be back in a jiff! Maybe a little rest is what I _really_ need!"

But before he continued back down the hill, he looked back into the sky once again as a dark look crossed his face. In his mind's eye, two faces crossed his vision – faces who he hadn't seen in a long time: Misty's and Brock's. Something was shaking him down to the core, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Did something maybe happen to them that he didn't know about? Sure, it had been a while since he had talked to them, but they were some of his closest friends, and he still considered them his best friends of all time.

Well, not much he could do all the way here in Kalos. But he knew once he got to the next Pokémon Center, he would call them both and find out if they were okay or not. "Misty... Brock..." The names took Pikachu by surprise, and the Mouse Pokémon widened its eyes as it looked at its Trainer walk back down the hill towards the spring yet again.

"Pikachu-Pi? Pika-Chu..?"

o 0 o

The first thing she felt was the wind rush out of her lungs. Pressed with the weight of a Snorlax sitting on her chest, there was hardly time for any emotion as the ground left her feet and the cold surrounded her. Vision was completely black as fear tightened her eyelids, unmoving even the slightest as though super glue had been applied to them. Suspended in air, time seemed to stand still as her blood ran cold, and in that brief moment, she was glad she left Azurill at home.

With hardly any time to suck salty air back into her lungs, the water surrounded her with a mighty splash, and the blackness behind her eyelids lit up in a flurry of colors like fireworks. Even beneath the ocean line, the muffled explosion above was deafening, and she only shut her eyes tighter as she sank into the blackness of the bottomless sea.

As bubbles rushed by her, pieces of debris and metal skimming past her and sinking past her known only through vibration, her eyes fluttered open as she looked at the blazing mass that was the ship she had been standing on moments. Her body just felt so weak, and she could feel her lungs shriveling in her chest, burning and screaming for any type of air. A mass of bubbles escaped from her nose and mouth, the last of her oxygen leaving her body, and though her vision was already blurry from the water, it began to fade away as life left.

Suddenly, thoughts flooded into her mind. Her sisters would be devastated without her. Her Pokémon, too. The Gym would close; her legacy. And she was so close to becoming a Water Pokémon Master! She had been invited to one of _Prima's_ tournaments. She had been recognized! She couldn't give up now. She had to fight to survive. With muscles feeling as heavy as cement, her hand instinctively reached for the pink shoulder bag around her body and reached inside. Knowing exactly which Poké Ball she wanted, Misty pressed the release button after extending it forward, and a flash of bright white light slithered out of the middle of the ball.

The light faded, and from it emerged a giant blue sea serpent with a menacing glare. Moving through the ocean with ease, it let out a menacing growl that could be heard even underwater, but violet eyes glanced back at its Trainer, and it quickly understood the situation. Curling its body around, the Pokémon started to rise as fast as it could once its Trainer was nestled on sapphire scales. Being a Water-type Pokémon, the Atrocious Pokémon surfaced fairly quickly, and Misty was able to fill her lungs with air once again. Letting out a cough to get rid of any excess water in her chest, her blurred vision cleared and she looked up at her Pokémon's worried face.

"Thanks, Gyarados. I knew I could count on you," Misty said to her Pokémon as water dripped from her hair. Her body felt waterlogged and her clothes were suctioned to her body, but at least she was alive. Sitting up and placing her hands in front of her to rest them on Gyarados's body for support, in the back of her mind, she knew that shock had not settled in yet as both Pokémon and Trainer looked upon the burning ship atop the water, smoke black as night fuming from the flames as debris and flakes of flames rained down and fizzled out into the water.

Calling herself a Water Pokémon expert, she knew quite a bit a lot about ships as well, and knew that their attackers hadn't aimed randomly on the ship – they had aimed for the engine to destroy the small cruiser in one go. Aqua eyes scanned the area for the little motorboat containing the two Rocket grunts, but she couldn't see through the thick haze laid out from the smoke around them. Considering the only reason they survived was because they were close to the deck and got blown off in the impact, she figured the rest of the crew would be dead, if not from the fire then by drowning.

 _They._

Brock and Erika! Panic started to settle into her eyes as her eyelids widened, and she stood up on Gyarados steadily to try and see if she could find her friends. Luckily, she didn't have to go very far. "Misty!" She heard the voice cut through the smog and turned in the direction of the smoke. Relief soothed her body only momentarily when she saw her older friend swimming towards her Gyarados, arms wrapped around the turquoise Water Pokémon in his possession, his Marshtomp.

"Oh Brock! Are you hurt?" the redhead replied, her voice breaking only slightly, but showing that she was trying her best to stay calm despite the situation.

"I'm fine, but it's Erika that I'm worried about! I haven't seen her, and she doesn't have any Water Pokémon to help her!" Realization kicked in, and Misty's head whipped towards the ocean next to the burning ship; moving her head so fast her ponytail bobbed around in the air. Debris of all kind was floating atop the water, metal and charred wood both burned black from the explosion. But there was no sign of human bodies anywhere.

Eyebrows coming together in determination, she once again reached into her bag and fished out three Poké Balls, placing the shrunken devices in the crevices of each finger and held up her hand. "Goldeen, Staryu, Starmie! We need your help!" With precision that showed professionalism, as if she had done this before, as she swung her hand, she simultaneously pressed the silver release buttons on the red and white balls, enlarging them as they were let go from her fingers. The three Poké Balls opened, and each Pokémon appeared in the water, turning and looking to their Trainer for orders after releasing small cries and assessing the situation.

"Look for any survivors and bring them here!" the Gym Leader told her Pokémon. Each Water-type nodded their bodies before diving below the surface. A worried glance crossed between the two friends, Misty atop her Gyarados and Brock holding onto his Marshtomp as the sea rocked them both. Now they could only wait.

At that moment, the sound of rushing water caught their attention, and the two Trainers turned around to see a young man with brown hair under a red cap riding on top of a Lapras, determination giving his equally brown eyes a shine. "Are you two okay?" he asked them as he approached. The two also saw another male who seemed to be about the same age as the other approaching, this one riding on the back of a Blastoise's shell. "What happened here?"

"The ship we were on was attacked," Brock explained. "We're okay, but we haven't seen any other survivors aside from us."

"I just sent my Water Pokémon underwater to look for any that might need help under the surface," Misty added. The other boy nodded in understanding, and patted his Lapras's neck to urge it to keep moving.

"I'll look around and see if there's anyone near the ship that needs help," he said, and both Pokémon and Trainer zoomed across the top of the water towards the thick smog, flames, and debris until he was nothing but a shadow in the smoke.

"Hey! You're going to get yourself hurt!" Misty warned, holding out a hand as if to reach out and grab him, although he was already too far away for this to happen.

"Don't bother," the newcomer scoffed, his Blastoise coming to a stop between Misty and Brock. Upon closer inspection, both Misty and Brock saw the similarities between him and someone else they knew.

 _He looks just like Gary!_ Misty thought. Standing atop that Blastoise, he was the spitting image of their old traveling companion's rival, but there were a few differences between them. The boy's hair before them was lighter in color, and he had different colored eyes as Gary with different shapes to them. He also wore a green jacket over a black v-collared shirt. And although he had an aura of smugness about him that was almost similar to Gary's, he also showed a confidence that was calming.

"Once he's made up his mind, there's no changing it: even if it involves charging head-first into a burning ship," the young man continued, crossing his arms. The two Trainers said nothing as they looked at him, and simply turned back towards the ship that was starting to sink into the water. A great hissing sound was slowly erupting from the ship as it made its way to Davy Jones' Locker, and they knew they had to get away soon. But they had to wait to see if any of the Pokémon they sent would find any survivors. A pang of sadness stabbed Misty's heart as she imagined Erika sinking to the bottom of the ocean, holding onto her Oddish as they both let out their final breaths. A watery grave for a Grass specialist was not appropriate at all.

"Huu!" The familiar cry of Misty's Starmie cut through the silence of the three Pokémon Trainers, and Misty looked down to see the purple Mysterious Pokémon swim out of the smoke. On its back and hanging over one of its spikes, a blue-haired female was unconscious and being carried by the dual Water and Psychic Pokémon. Relief flowed through Misty's body, but panic settled in once again when she saw Erika wasn't breathing.

"Erika!" Misty cried in horror as Starmie swam towards its Trainer. Gyarados lowered its back and Misty was able to pull the older female onto its back with her. It was starting to get a little cramped on the Atrocious Pokémon, but that thought was in the back of Misty's mind as she pulled Erika onto her back. Her eyes were closed, and there was blood coming out of a wound on the side of her temple, as well as some minor burns on her right arm.

"How is she?!" Brock asked, as Marshtomp and him swam closer to Gyarados.

"She's not breathing," Misty reported, bringing her ear to her breast and listening carefully. After a moment, a faint heartbeat could be heard, and the Water Pokémon Trainer let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. Acting quickly, she tilted Erika's head back, plugged her nose, and brought her lips to the other's. Breathing heavily into the orifice, she started to pump her chest to get the water out of her lungs. She did this a couple more times before water trickled out of her mouth, and Misty turned Erika's head so the Gym Leader could expel the water from her lungs out.

"Hiya!"

"Goldeen!"

As this all happened, Misty's Staryu and Goldeen appeared from under the water. Goldeen seemed to be holding a small object in its mouth, and Misty pulled up from Erika's face. "Did you guys find any other survivors?" The two Pokémon shook their head sadly, but Goldeen swam closer, the white and orange scales on its body seeming to glow in the fire. Narrowing her eyes to look at the object closely, she saw Goldeen gesture to Erika. "Brock, I think that Poké Ball contains Erika's Oddish!"

"She must have protected Oddish over herself by recalling it into its Poké Ball at the last moment," he deduced, reaching around his own Pokémon to get the Poké Ball from Misty's Goldeen.

"Did you find anyone, Red?" the boy called, and the two friends turned around to look at the doppelganger of Gary – his shout reminding them both that he was still there.

"No," the boy muttered back with sadness ringing in his voice as him and Lapras swam back. "The ship is starting to sink. I don't think anyone survived.

"Well, we have _one_ survivor," his friend pointed out, gesturing his head towards the group of three as Brock inspected Erika as best he could from the water.

"How is she, Brock?" Misty asked. Although she knew that Brock was training to be a _Pokémon_ Doctor, she knew that in the three years they traveled together, he was always the one to take care of them.

"She's hurt, but I should be able to help if he get on solid land," he replied.

"We just came from a deserted island!" the boy called Red piped up, the sadness that shown in his eyes trying his best to show happiness that there was at least _one_ saved victim from the explosion. "We'll take you to it; c'mon!" And so, with Red and his friend leading the way on their Lapras and Blastoise, Brock and Marshtomp, and Misty and Gyarados followed them towards the island in the distance. With the blue-haired girl's soaked head laying in Misty's lap for support, the redhead looked down at Erika. Her Pokémon had all been retrieved in their Poké Balls, and Brock was holding onto Erika's Poké Ball.

 _Hold on, Erika. Just hold on!_


End file.
